i own a 1970 chevelle ss a real one with doc. 454 4 speed cowl induction and oval port aluminum intake. it does not have the original motor , its a number 2 car a weekend driver, puts out about 360 horse would like to go 500 horse range with good torque. what i have now 049 heads minor porting stock valves pistons are 30.over trw ls88 i think, flat tops . low compression 125 to 130 so 8 to 1 so the goal is 9.5 to 10.5 pump gas. my engine builder recommends new aluminium oval port heads. he said he can redo my 049 new bigger valves, seats ,porting ect. everything for about $800.00. or buy new heads . should i buy the new heads or re do the 049. the issue i have with the aluminium heads is that it takes away from the stock look. plus i have the complete cowl induction set up. would the aluminium heads look out of place with the cowl set up or maybe its don't matter because its not an original motor. thank you

i forgot my engine builder also want to go 60 over new domed pistons new cam, new harmonic balancer , new oil pan, new hei distributor , balance the engine. which product would guy guys recommend for new harmonic balancer , new oil pan i want to fit without modifications , new hei distributor

if you just want it faster at he track use nitrous

the newer aluminum heads will outperform the old heads by far, its money well spent

also, a good exhaust helps too, 3" from the headers back

no track just street use.

Street only, you don't really need the aluminum heads, but they would be capable of more power. If you want them to look stock, grind off any obvious aftermarket markings and paint them. I personally wouldn not mess with the Edelbrock style heads. I would get Brodix race rites if I were going to spend the money. Better performance, better re-sale value later on. If you don't want to spend that much money, the 049's will support well over 600HP with the right work, so that is still a good option. Nothing wrong with using them at all. As far as the other stuff. My advice is to stay away from the ultra cheap Chinese parts whenever possible. You don't want the cheapest balancer you can buy. Some of them have been known to come apart. Not good.

Those 049's have the ability to do what you want with no difficulties, and if Iron heads are what you want then difinately stick with them. $800 is a good price IMO, especailly if you can get them flowed to prove the work was done well.

BTW, be sure they install GOOD 11/32" stem valves, and manganese bronze guides. Worth the money. For $800 I can't imagine you will get much in the way of port work. Probably just a quicky bowl blend, but it will help. Have a couple of chambers cc'd so you will know what piston you need to get your compression where you want it. May be better to have the heads milled than to put a bigger dome piston in. JMHO.

The Dart/Summit iron heads for 1200.00 may be a good option. I think I would go this was before dropping 800.00 into 30+ yr old casting. Darts will flow better anyway. The catch? I think the Summit/Dart heads have a slightly raised exhaust port, like +.300, but I dont see that being too much an issue.

The Dart/Summit iron heads for 1200.00 may be a good option. I think I would go this was before dropping 800.00 into 30+ yr old casting. Darts will flow better anyway. The catch? I think the Summit/Dart heads have a slightly raised exhaust port, like +.300, but I dont see that being too much an issue.

Do you have a link? I can't find any for $1200 on Summits website?

I found them. They are Rect. ports. Take +.200-.250 pushrods. $1300 + extra shipping.

Yea there like 1290.00. Probably would need pushrods anyway if he gets his heads milled, block decked, cam/lifter change etc. You can get a new set of Trend pushrods for ~100.00. May need a head bolt kit too. You can sell the cuurent heads if they are in bolt on condition which brings the 1300.00 into the range of redoing your heads +/- a couple of hundred bucks.

Decisions decisions